Elder Parker Groneman

Tuesday, July 5, 2016

I
can't believe that this is my last letter. I never thought that this day
would come so soon. It literally feels like I was a new missionary
yesterday.

During my time here in Chile, I have learned many things and how to start talking is something that I have no idea how to do.

I
have come to know and love my Savior here in Chile. I thought I knew
Him before because I could recite stories from the scriptures and knew
all of the answers in Seminary and Sunday School. I now realize that the
gospel isn't a list of things to do, nor is it a list of things not to
do, rather it is a way to live and to be. In order to really come to
know and love our Savior, we must first come to know and love His
teachings. There is no other way because He is His teachings.

There
have been many times during the mission that I have wondered exactly [why] many people can't realize that true happiness is found only through
whole-hearted and consecrated obedience to the laws, ordinances, and
covenants of the gospel. If at any time we are unhappy, we lack
1) conversion and 2) consecration. Sure, at times we will feel sorrow for
the choices of others but even in the midst of such sorrow, the joy of
righteous gospel-living will radiate through our souls.

This
life is a life of change. Whether we are changing for the better or for
the worse is ultimately our decision. God cannot mold us without our
permission - such would be contrary to the principle of agency. As we
lay aside our weapons of our rebellion that keep us from rendering our
hearts fully to God, we are allowing Him to take control and make of us
the servants He wants and needs us to be. In the end, we can do many
things by ourselves, but without the enabling power found in Christ, we
will never be able to achieve all of our divine potential. Everyone has
at least one weapon of their rebellion that is keeping them from fully
rendering their heart to God; whether it be a desire to listen to music
with inappropriate lyrics, the excuse of being "too busy" or "too
tired", annoyance or frustration with church leaders, etc. At some point
we will need to bury those weapons; so why not now? In the end, the only
way to truly "win" is to lose; lose yourself in the Lord´s will. When
He wins, we do, too.

I have seen miracles in the
lives of the people I have taught. Watching them change their lives
completely just to have something that I have always had, has made me
realize just how grateful I am to loving parents who taught me in a
gospel-centered home. Many times I have had companions or members or
investigators ask me how I know what I know. The only answer I have ever
been able to come up with is that my parents taught me. Now I realize
why Helaman made a special effort to emphasize that the 2060 stripling
warriors were taught by their mothers. That had to have been backed up
by fathers and the faithful examples of both parents. Forever more I
will be grateful to the faithful example of my parents, for they have
shown me the higher way to live.

Above all, I
have learned that nothing is worth it if it makes you lose the Spirit.
NEVER do anything that would endanger you from losing the Spirit and
falling from the grace of God. As long as we have the Spirit with us, we
will be okay. Think of it for a moment. God blesses every baptized and
confirmed person with the gift and opportunity of having the constant
companionship of a member of the Godhead. Wow. Now, answer me this
question. What in the world could be more important than living worthily
of that companionship? The answer, nothing! The Spirit purifies and
sanctifies us. It seals and guides us. The Spirit is the key.

One
last piece of random advice. If you ever are praying for an answer and
it doesn't come while you're on your knees, please get up and get moving.
The answer will almost always come while you're on your feet. A prayer of
faith implies action. Now go and ACT.

Monday, June 27, 2016

Sadly, C** did not get baptized yesterday. :( Her great grandma is in
the hospital now so the family decided to postpone the baptism. For how
long? That's a very good question. No idea.

Nothing happened with our other investigators this week either. They either weren't home or they had family problems. So ya....

On
a different note - Haha we made zone t-shirts. My comp designed them and I did all of the administrative stuff so that they could be made. We
wore them to our Zone Conference and took a picture in
them with Presidente. Haha the other zone was jealous. Now we just found out that next
week we're probably going to have a mission 4th of July party because the
new housing director of the mission wanted one. Ya, we're going to wear
them to that as well.

I never
thought that I would become such an expert in breaking into houses
during the mission. So far I've broken into an investigator's house, a
random person's house, 2 less actives' houses and on Friday I had to help
break into the house of the elders in my district. They lost their keys,
the zone leaders lost the backup keys, and the housing director's keys
didn't work. Therefore, we broke in. Using a broom and lots of skill. The
elders are still going in and out of their house by climbing through
their balcony door.

Oh ya, just so you know, next week will be my last letter home.

When breaking into a house, watch out for wire gates. They're kinda hard to see at night and crashing into one isn't that fun.

Monday, June 20, 2016

I can't think of a way to start this email. So I shall start it by saying that I don't know how to start it. Makes sense, right?

U**
finally got confirmed this week! After almost of month of being
baptized....Gotta love Stake Conferences but they really throw things
off schedule sometimes. But in the end, all is well. His older sister
C** came to church as well so, assuming that she passes her
baptismal interview tomorrow, she should be getting baptized on Sunday!
Yay for saved souls!

Our other investigators aren't
progressing that much. We are probably going to drop a few of them. It's
really sad when we do that because we know how much their lives can be
blessed by the gospel but they just don't want to accept it nor act upon
it. I always hope that in some future day, when the situation is right,
the Lord will guide other missionaries to that person again and give
them another chance.

Here's a bit of advice - NEVER GO
INACTIVE. It's a lot harder to reestablish gospel habits afterwards. We
are currently teaching a lady and her disabled daughter who have been
less active for about 6 years. Long story short, she went inactive after
separating from her husband. When she went inactive, she dragged her 4
children with her. Now, years later, only 1 of them wants to return with
her. She laments her past decisions and is now realizing exactly what
her decisions have cost her. Pres Monson has repeated many times that
"Decisions determine Destiny". How true that statement is. If our
choices that we make now aren't in accordance with our goals, we will
NEVER reach our goals. Are our day-to-day choices leading us to where we
want to go? Hopefully the honest answer is yes. If not, there is still
time to change and get back on course. It may be hard, like this lady
has come to realize. But in the end, it will be worth it.

Happy Father´s Day - yes, I know it's a day late but I don't have that many options of when I can use email. ;)

When
using a needle and thread, it would be wise to not do so while seated
on your bed. If you happen to lose the needle, a midnight acupuncture
treatment is imminent.

Monday, June 13, 2016

This week was just full of
meetings. On Tuesday we had a zone meeting. On Friday I had a District Leader meeting with President and on Saturday we watched a broadcast
from Elder Bednar (the same one as before but this time we got to watch
it completely). I actually like the meetings because I always learn a
lot. President Díaz, being the Seminary/Institute Coordinator for Chile
(or the whole Area, can't remember), is a very good teacher. Every time
we have a conference or a meeting with him, I always leave with a greater
desire to dive deeper into the scriptures. There are soo many truths
and lessons that we can learn from the scriptures if we just only take a
bit more time to analyze them. Think about how they apply specifically to
our lives and the situations that we face every day.

For
example, everyone basically skims over the war chapters thinking that
there isn't that much spiritual worth in them. WRONG! The war chapters
are in the BoM because they teach us how to live the gospel during hard
and difficult times and what we need to do to prepare ourselves so that
we can withstand the war we face with sin and temptations every day.
Maybe the answers aren't 100% obvious all of the time, but they are there.
You've just got to be looking for them as you are studying. KEY WORD =
STUDY *not read*.

I found 2 great quotes this week in the June 2016 Liahona:

"The best way to help those we love - the best way to love them - is to continue to put the Savior first."

Think of the magnitude of these statements.
Many times we can get distracted by the needs of others so much that we
start to put aside our covenant obligations, not even realizing it. Or
thinking that we are helping loved ones by tolerating decisions contrary
to the Savior's teachings. Nope. If we really love someone, we will show
them the better and higher way of living - the Savior's way. The second
quote reminds me of King Benjamin's teaching that we will always be
debtors to God because literally everything we are and have is thanks to
Him.

Here are some fotos to enjoy:) I finally found a cord that the computer wants to accept.

When
going through the maze of life (or a labrynth of chairs and tables), it's
a tad bit easier to listen to the correct voice (the Spirit and
prophet's) and not to the voices that try to throw you off course.

Bruised
ankles and shins are never fun results of a mistaken step or turn.

Monday, June 6, 2016

So for my last change I am staying in
Valparaíso. Yes, 4 areas each for 6 months. I stayed with my comp so my
"son" is killing his "dad" and receiving the "inheritance" (all the
stuff that I'm going to leave). We're pretty happy about that. All is
going good here.

The other day my comp made me avocado
milk. Every Latino loves banana milk (milk, banana, sugar) and they
drink it quite often. In Brazil they also love avocado milk. If you ask
any Latino about it, they will immediately have a repulsed look on their
face and ask if you are crazy (even though they've probably never tried
it). Here they use avocado with salt. In Brazil they use it with sugar -
hence the instant rejection from Latinos. Well, it's actually not that
bad. Interesting, yes. Bad and disgusting, no. I think I'm just too used
to salty avocado now....

This week one of our
investigators basically told us her life story. Wow, I haven't met anyone
that has had a harder life than she has had/having. We hope that she
really starts to apply the gospel to her life. She really needs it but
due to her situation and background, it's been hard for her to follow.

I
love how the gospel and the knowledge of God´s plan gives us hope. Such
a small, cliche (I think that's how you spell it...) word but it is sooo
important. We can only have as much faith as we have hope. Hope is the
confidence that God will fulfill His promises. It's the energy that makes
us move. Without hope we cannot have faith because there won't be
anything to have faith in. It's sad to see someone that has lost all hope
because I know that God will always fulfill His promises. We can always
have that assurance.

The rest of the week was fairly normal. Not much happened. We couldn't get a hold of the majority of our investigators so ya.

Please
double check that the lid is on tight when using a blender to make
avocado milk, banana milk, or whichever drink you choose. A single punch
of a button could result in a tasty beverage or half an hour of
clean-up duty.

Tuesday, May 31, 2016

BAUTISMO!!! U** got baptized yesterday! It was also quite a
normal baptism. Not quite as calm as the last one but once again
nothing went wrong. I could get used to this....

C**,
U**´s older sister now wants to get baptized as well. She keeps
saying that this next Sunday is going to be her baptism but well...it
can't be. 1 because it's Stake Conference. 2 because she doesn't have
enough church attendances. She will easily be baptized in June though.
Oh, shes 10. Needless to say the Primary President is very pleased with
the growing numbers.

We've been finding a few very promising
new investigators and others that seem like they will progress but we
still haven't been able to find their houses or them in their houses. One
challenge of Valparaíso is finding people´s houses. Lots of times 5
families live in the same plot of land and every house has the same
number. Then there are the houses that are in the gullies in between the
hills and the ones that you have to travel through other houses and
down/up stairs just to get to them. Haha it makes me think of the
computer games in which you build houses. They never let you build
houses on steep hills or really close to other houses, right? Ya, I don't
think that the makers of those games ever visited Valpo. It is very
possible to build houses on very steep hills.

Monday, May 23, 2016

This week was a good one. Nothing extremely exciting happened but good things still came to pass.

J**
y F** were confirmed yesterday so all is well there. M**
(J**´s mom) came to church finally. She's also an investigator. We are hoping that now that J** got baptized she
will have more desires to follow his example.

This week we
finally were able to teach a future investigator that we've been trying
to teach for a couple months now but every time we've passed by she's been
extremely busy. When we passed by she was actually about to tell
us the same but then my comp (we were on interchanges) asked to use her
bathroom. Yep, we entered the house. Anyways, as I was
waiting for my comp, the husband comes up to me and asks me if we are
busy because he wanted to talk with us. We always have time when you ask
like that! We then proceeded to teach him and his wife (haha at the
beginning she actually tried to leave the room to finish washing the
dishes but he made her stop and sit down - yes!) He apparently is a
less active (now very evangelico). They both felt the Spirit big time and
she accepted a baptismal date immediately and then said that she wants
her whole family to be baptized! They have 5 kids living with them and
after passing by so much we already know them all. The oldest 3 will be a
challenge baptizing... :/ Impossible no, but with them it will be hard. Yay for the
gospel! Life´s one-size-fits-all problem solver!

Sunday we
should have another baptism. U** - 9years old. Ya, I told you
we were going to baptize the primary. If we can finish teaching him
everything, he'll be baptized. The only problem is that with his family
the parents are very flakey and even when we pass by for appointments we
set they usually have an excuse. That's why the oldest daughter still
hasn't been baptized either. As of right now it seems that everything
will go well but well, you never know. One thing that I've seen over and
over again is how Satan loves attacking families and especially people
about to be baptized. Lots of prayers would be a giant help :)

Please
make sure that you always have a way to access the roof when you play
soccer with a bunch of white gringos. Turns out that soccer balls have a
strange attraction to roofs.....